Dilani & Craig
Dilani emailed me a few months before her wedding. Dilani lives in America with Craig, so we didn’t actually meet until a couple of days before the wedding, all our correspondence was through email with a phone call here or there!!! Dilani & Craig had plans to do “the legal ceremony” in the states with family & friends, followed by a ceremony & reception in Edinburgh for the Scottish contingency & then off to Sri Lanka to share their celebrations with family there!
Dilani was quick to point out that the budget was tighter than planned due to the exchange rate. At the time of our first interchange the dollar was 2:1 to the pound which meant Dilani was getting a lot less for her money!
Dilani had seen her chosen venue on a previous trip to Edinburgh, had booked it, sourced her food & beverages, musicians, flowers, beautician & hairdresser. Lots of boxes already ticked!!
Dilani had hired a building recommended to her in the city centre which can be hired for a daily rate. The building comprises of 3 floors, with reception rooms, restrooms & kitchen. This suited Dilani’s requirements right down to the ground!
Dilani wanted to give her guests a good variety of food with dishes to suit everyone. She decided to purchase food from Waitrose who will deliver fresh to on the day. They also supplied wine, soft drinks and glasses. All I needed to do was hire a chef to cook the food and waiting & bar personnel to attend to the guests. This way Dilani was in control of her budget & menu without the expense of a catering firm! Most catering firms will try to tie you down to a set menu with a limited choice with a buffet menu, however paying a supplement will normally give you some lea way here, again that is an added expense!!
Now we did save money doing our catering this way with greater choice for the guests, and boy that girl went to town!! There were 9 curries on offer, haggis, roasts you name it, not to mention the canapies and desserts too!! However if you are thinking of planning a similar reception for your guests please bear in mind, it was time consuming in the way of visiting the venue, realising the equipment they had in place and what we required to carry off the reception, i.e. extra kitchen equipment, crockery, cutlery, linen etc. Plus she had me there on the day to oversee everything was delivered, cooked & served to plan!! That was why Dilani had the sense to hire a Wedding Co-ordinator!!!
Dilani decided to go with my suggestion of the Marks & Spencers three tier wedding cake which we personalised ourselves to co-ordinate with the bridal parties dress & flowers.
This cake is excellent value at under £200, having a tier each of fruit, madiera & chocolate it has something for everybody!
The room Dilani choose for the reception was quite dark with oak panelling lining the historic walls! We opted for white table linen with white “double bubble” balloons.
The use of balloons is an inexpensive way to decorate your function room, whilst giving your tables a centrepiece, if the ceilings are high it creates height on each table, oh and there is the WOW factor when your guests enter the room!
Morale of the story—
Anything can be achieved on a budget – just get your suppliers right!! Plenty of communication is key to your success. Dilani trusted me to go ahead and source what we needed to have the day she wanted, in the venue she had chosen with the menu she desired for her guests. There were flavours of Scotland and Sri Lanka and plenty party spirit!!
Dilani & Craigs Comments:
We want to say thank you for the amazing job you did with our wedding. The day was lovely and went smoothly. The venue looking amazing – so much better than when we first saw it!! Our wedding day was lovely and we’re so pleased with everything. Thank you again.
Dilani & Craig
March 2008
